APPENDIX ONE: EQUIPMENT, GEAR, AND TRAPS

monster hides, but those who fight things that die when you Hunters use them to detect the presence or recent passage
drive wood through their hearts can replace the steel rod of ghosts and other spirit-like entities, some of which emit
with a sharp wooden stake. When used to target the heart, electromagnetic fields of varying strengths depending on
the stakebolt version only needs to deal 4 damage in one at- the Potency of the entity. If the character actively watches
tack to penetrate rather than 5. an EMF detector when such an entity uses a Dread Power
Hunters can substitute other things for the rod as well, nearby, no roll is required to notice the spike in results.
such as a syringe or silver knife that needs extra oomph to Some EMF detectors are narrower in usage, picking up
pierce thick skin. only a certain frequency of readings. Others are broadband,
Despite the name, a stunbolt gun is a melee weapon, picking up a wide variety. A hunter can modify an EMF
with traits on p. XX. detector to quickly cycle through a selection of specific fre-
quencies common to various types of spirits, increasing the
High-Tech Devices equipment bonus to +3 to find evidence of those types. This
modification has an Availability of • and a penalty of –1 per
Radiation Imaging specific type of spirit for which the hunter wants to calibrate;
switching frequencies is a reflexive action.
Availability ••• or ••••, Modification Penalty –5
Effect: A hunter can modify a camera, either still or Hunter’s Best Friend
video, to pick up more of the electromagnetic spectrum than Availability ••, Modification Penalty –3
just the visible range of light. Infrared is the most common Effect: The so-called “Hunter’s Best Friend,” or “Vigil
wavelength viewed this way, to find fluctuations in tempera- knife,” is like an oversized Swiss Army knife containing a col-
ture that reveal the presence of living things (or ghost posses- lection of fundamental monster-hunting necessities. Any giv-
sion) even in complete darkness; but if a monster’s known en example may provide different tools depending on who
for giving off ultraviolet radiation or x-rays, a hunter could made it, but the basics include several pocketknives made
find those too with some work. At Availability ••••, she from different materials, like silver and iron; lockpicks; wire-
can also add software to a modified digital camera (or pair of cutters; penlights; blacklights; lighters; and tubes of useful
augmented reality glasses) to recognize and filter for specific substances, such as C4, blood for leaving false trails, poisons,
radiation patterns that suggest the presence of certain kinds chemicals, holy water or oil, and ritual components.
of monsters.
Signal Jammer
Availability •• or •••, Modification Penalty –1 or –3 Building and
Effect: A hunter can modify anything that transmits
signals, from walkie talkies to cell phones and Bluetooth de- Setting Traps
vices, to jam signals or cause feedback instead by flooding The Build Equipment rules on p. XX detail how char-
usable frequencies with noise. Most do it to stop monsters acters can make five types of equipment: physical objects,
that pretend at civilization from calling for backup, but in organizations, repositories, plans, and minor mystical tal-
some cases the monsters themselves or their inscrutable de- ismans. Hunters can also make a sixth type of equipment:
vices receive otherworldly signals that use radio frequencies. traps. Making a trap can involve actually building it from
Disrupting these can give a hunter precious seconds that can scratch, or just setting it up to await its prey. The dice pool
turn a fight around. for building a trap uses either Crafts or Survival.
If a hunter knows the specific frequency she wants to A trap doesn’t grant an equipment bonus to actions.
jam, the modification has lower Availability and a lower pen- Instead, it imposes a penalty to all attempts to escape its ef-
alty. Jamming a wide spread of common frequencies requires fects, whether the victim must free itself from captivity, avoid
much more specialized equipment, a generous power supply triggering the trap in the first place, or dive clear of an explo-
to drown out other signals, and delicate work. sion. Building a trap uses this trait instead of an equipment
Hunters can also simply acquire a signal jammer without bonus to determine the built-in penalty for the Crafts roll.
modifying other equipment; these have Availability ••••. For roleplaying purposes, a trap’s Build Equipment pen-

Investigation Aids
alty can reflect different things. Traps that rely on electronic
components or explosives require more care and more skill
to set in the first place, while cruder mechanical traps are
Electromagnetic relatively simple to set but harder to hide effectively.
Field (EMF) Detector A trap with the Fragile Condition (p. XX) can only hold
Effect: An ordinary EMF detector is a handheld device a monster until it falls apart, even if the monster fails its roll
that electricians use to pick up traces of electromagnetic to escape. Traps meant to deal damage, like a land mine, sim-
fields in appliances and wiring. It has an equipment bonus ply become inert after Fragile resolves. A dramatic failure to
of +2, Availability •, Durability 1, Size 1, and Structure 2. build or set a trap usually results in the hunter herself falling

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victim to the trap’s effects. Hunters can risk Willpower (p. Exceptional Success: The character avoids the trap’s ef-
XX) to set or spring traps for monsters and can Jury Rig (p. fects and manages to deactivate the trap, ruin it, or make it
XX) traps during action scenes, but can’t combine the two, temporarily inert without another roll.
since every failure on a Jury Rigging action is already a dra- Failure: The character sets off the trigger but notices it
matic one. immediately.
If a character uses a creature’s bane in a trap’s construc- Dramatic Failure: The character sets off the trigger and
tion, the creature suffers all the usual effects of coming into doesn’t even notice until the trap’s effects take hold; he for-
contact with the bane (p. XX). The Storyteller may impose feits any rolls to escape these effects for a number of turns
additional penalties to the creature’s attempts to escape in equal to the Crafts rating of whoever set the trap.
this case, but these don’t factor into the Build Equipment
penalty. However, characters can only build physical traps
with these rules, which are only capable of affecting corpo-
Example Traps
real creatures. To catch ghosts, spirits, and other things that Below are some example traps that hunters build or set.
require mystical binding to contain, hunters must use the The trap penalty listed here is for the trap’s effects only; any
Bind/Ward Tactic (p. XX). trap that notes activation by trigger adds the appropriate trig-
ger penalty, as above.
Trap Triggers Bear Trap
Some traps take effect when the victim activates a cer- Trap Penalty –1, Durability 3, Size 2, Structure 5,
tain trigger, like stepping on a pressure plate or turning a Availability ••
doorknob rigged with a hidden switch. Each type of trigger Effect: A bear trap is a large metal contraption that
carries an innate trap penalty of its own, reflecting how dif- looks something like a set of deadly jaws. For this reason,
ficult it is to notice or avoid. A trap’s overall penalty is a they’re also commonly called jaw traps. When a creature
combination of the trigger’s penalty and the effects’ penalty, steps into the bear trap, it triggers the built-in pressure plate,
rolled into one as an abstraction of the trap’s overall effec- snapping the jaws shut on the creature’s leg. Due to the ser-
tiveness, to a maximum of –5. rated edges on the trap, this can cause massive bleeding or
For instance, a bear trap triggers when someone steps even broken bones.
on its pressure plate, which carries a –1 penalty. The trap’s The jaw trap deals three points of lethal damage and ig-
effect is a pair of metal jaws that shut tightly on the victim’s nores two points of armor or Durability. In an action scene, it
leg; escaping those represents another –1 penalty, bringing also imposes the Leg Wrack Tilt (p. XX). A character trapped
the total trap penalty to –2. Players and Storytellers improvis- in the jaws can attempt to escape as an instant action. Doing
ing traps on the fly can estimate the penalty imposed by its so requires a Strength + Stamina roll. Failure causes another
intended effects and then add the necessary trigger penalty. point of lethal damage as the jaws dig in further. Creatures
Here are some example triggers: without opposable thumbs cannot escape this way and must
rip themselves free.
Trigger Penalty Rolls to hide a bear trap suffer its trap penalty. It’s dif-
Pressure plate/Spring –1 ficult to hide due to its awkward shape and weight.
Tripwire/Snare –1 Deadfall Trap
Hidden switch/Booby-trapped device –2 Trap Penalty –1, Durability 2, Size 5, Structure 7,
Manual trigger (detonator, lever, etc.) –2 Availability •
Motion sensor –3 Effect: At its simplest, a deadfall trap is a heavy object
or pile of rubble suspended above a trigger. When activat-
Avoiding a Trigger ed, the object falls and crushes the victim beneath its bulk.
Controlled demolition can also create a deadfall trap by de-
A character who’s about to trigger a trap rolls once to stroying structural supports and causing a wall or ceiling — or
both notice and avoid it. This action is only contested for even an entire building — to collapse on top of the victim.
traps with manual triggers, such as an explosive that a hunter A deadfall trap deals three levels of lethal damage and
must detonate by hand. imposes the Immobilized Tilt. Escaping requires a Strength
Action: Reflexive + Athletics roll to shift aside the object or rubble. Dramatic
Dice Pool: Wits + Composure — trap penalty vs. Wits failures often inflict the Arm or Leg Wrack Tilt to reflect
+ Dexterity twisted ankles and the like.
Roll Results Mine
Success: The character notices the trigger in time to Trap Penalty –2, Durability 3, Size 1, Structure 4,
avoid the trap’s effects. Availability •••

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packed with shrapnel has Damage +3 instead. Mines built to

deal damage to vehicles as they pass, rather than individuals,
EXPLOSIVES have Blast Area 3 and Force 3, and increase the trap penalty
to –3.
Explosive equipment, such as a
grenade or a land mine, has the The character who triggers a mine doesn’t get a roll to
following traits: dive for cover; he’s already doomed himself by failing to avoid
the trap in the first place. The Storyteller might allow other
• Damage: automatically characters in the area to roll depending on circumstances.
inflicted on everyone and
everything in the blast Net
radius. Aggravated at ground Trap Penalty –1, Durability 1, Size 3, Structure 4,
zero, lethal in primary Availability •
blast area, bashing in
secondary area. Objects Effect: Characters can deploy nets in many ways. The
downgrade levels equal Restrain grappling move (p. XX) and the Capture Tactic (p.
to Durability; remaining XX) are the most common, but hunters can fire a weighted
aggravated damage bypasses net from a net gun, or from a camouflaged rocket-powered
Durability entirely. launcher to catch monsters unawares (which counts as a
manual trigger). They can also rig a net with a snare trig-
• 
Blast Area: listed blast ger, hiding it underfoot until the prey stands in its center
area is the primary and then hauling it up to hang suspended with the creature
area; secondary area is inside.
twice that. Ground zero
is a smaller area in the The key to trapping a monster in a net is to entangle it
explosive’s immediate in the mesh, limiting its movements. An entangled target
vicinity. suffers the Immobilized Tilt (p. XX) but attempts to free it-
self don’t cause any damage unless the net is made of razor
• 
Force: roll Force as an wire or something similar, in which case it deals one point
attack dice pool to inflict of lethal damage per escape attempt and has Durability 3
additional damage; only instead.
apply Defense if a victim
has supernatural speed. Pit Trap
Mundane armor only counts
for half its ballistic Trap Penalty –1 or –2, Durability 1, Size 6, Structure 7,
rating. Add the explosive’s Availability •
Damage trait as a weapon Effect: By default, a pit trap is just a deep hole dug into
modifier to the rolled the ground, then covered with foliage, a tarp, rickety planks,
successes. or something else to keep it hidden. If it’s a permanent fea-
ture, it might have walls lined with wood, stone, or another
• 
Tilts: anyone who takes
material, which could increase the Durability. Hunters usu-
damage from an explosive also
suffers the Deafened Tilt. ally build pit traps near something that will attract a mon-
Individual explosive types ster, like enticing prey or the entrance to a building. If the
may impose other Tilts also. concealment fools the creature, it falls into the pit when it
steps on whatever hides the hole from view and can’t climb
back out. Ordinary pit traps are usually about two meters
deep, but hunters dig them deeper to keep foes with super-
human abilities from leaping out.
Effect: A mine is anything designed to do harm when a
victim activates the trigger. It could be a proper land mine, Regular pit traps inflict falling damage as normal and
but more often hunters create makeshift explosives using impose a –1 total trap penalty, increased by one for every
gunpowder or chemicals. A mine could release toxic gas or additional meter of depth beyond two meters. A hunter can
flames instead of exploding or could deal additional shrap- line the pit with barbed wire or sharp spikes to deal an addi-
nel damage with nails or other sharp objects. tional one point of lethal damage and impose a –2 trap pen-
alty instead. She can even tip the spikes with poison to make
Mines that release tear gas or toxins use the rules for
the trap even meaner. Escaping a pit trap requires a Strength
poisons (p. XX) but apply to everyone within a few yards. An
+ Athletics – (trap penalty) roll to climb or jump out.
incendiary mine sets the victim and objects nearby on fire,
per the rules on p. XX. Explosive mines have the following Rigging a pit trap with a trapdoor that the hunter can
traits: Damage +2, Blast Area 1, Force 2. An explosive mine operate with a lever or electrical controls is an equipment
modification with a Build Equipment penalty of –1 or –2

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depending on how complex and reliable the mechanism is.

Spring Gun
Silent Alarm Trap Penalty –1, Durability 2, Size 2, Structure 4,
Trap Penalty –2, Durability 1, Size 1, Structure 2, Availability ••
Availability •• Effect: Characters can rig a gun, such as a shotgun or
Effect: A hunter can rig a silent alarm by pairing a trig- rifle, or anything else that launches projectiles, to fire when
ger with a device that sends out a signal. A character might a victim activates the trigger. Hunters most commonly use
receive the signal via radio, cell phone, or something else. these to trap a door, shooting anyone who opens it. Ordinary
Hunters set silent alarms when they want to know when a firearms deal their usual damage. A hunter can use this type
monster has taken their bait, or when it’s too dangerous to of trap to launch just about anything: tranquilizer darts,
directly engage. The alarm has no effect on the monster. weighted nets, or even a distinctive scent for tracking. Such
a trap might not target the victim directly, but simply exist
to make a loud noise and alert the hunters to an intruder’s
presence.

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